Arrest order for woman who ‘faked pregnancy, harassed ex’
A JUDGE has ordered the arrest of a woman who is accused of a campaign of harassment against her ex-boyfriend.
Emma Butt, 29, who works as a sound engineer, allegedly hacked her ex’s social media accounts, spread stories about their breakup on blogs and moved into his building, a court has heard.
Ms Butt, who had an address at Riverside Grove, Coolock, Dublin, but is now living in London, did not turn up to yesterday’s hearing and her barrister John Griffin confirmed she was not present.
Judge Michael Walsh issued a bench warrant for her arrest.
The court heard that she had been in a relationship with the complainant for seven months. After it ended, the man was allegedly subjected to a massive amount of emails and phone calls.
Garda Mark Nolan, of Sundrive Road station, told Judge Walsh that Ms Butt wrote a six-part blog about their relationship which she sent to members of his family and other people known to him.
It was alleged his Twitter account was accessed by her and his followers were sent the blog. The court heard the man worked in the television and sound industry and that the blog was sent to his employer and clients.
‘His Facebook account was hacked, his ex-girlfriends were contacted saying how horrible he was and that he ended the relationship, she claimed, because she was pregnant,’ Gda Nolan alleged.
Ms Butt allegedly sent him a photo of a pregnancy test which later turned out to be a stock picture.
On one occasion, gardaí were
‘She chased him down the road’
called because Ms Butt was waiting outside the man’s apartment, but she had left by the time they arrived, the court was told.
The court heard at one stage Ms Butt moved into the same apartment complex, two doors away from the man and lived there for about three months.
Ms Butt allegedly waited in the carpark, forcing the man ‘to run down the road while she chased him’, Gda Nolan said.
Ms Butt is accused of harassing her ex-partner between February 1 and May 30 in 2015 at various locations. She has not yet entered a plea to the charge.
She was due to appear at Dublin District Court yesterday to be served with a book of evidence and returned for trial. However, she failed to turn up to court.
Judge Walsh said the case was too serious to be dealt with in the district court and it should go forward for trial in the circuit court. which can impose longer sentences.
The district court had heard a summary of the prosecution evidence in July during a preliminary hearing to decide her trial venue.
Gda Nolan, had told Judge Walsh it would also be claimed she contacted the man’s father with claims of how badly she had been treated and this caused stress to his family.
The court heard the alleged harassment involved her ex-boyfriend’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as the blogs and emails.